Early signs of star potential
IT WAS a bitter night, the wind blowing in from the Windmill Road side, enough to send all but the hardiest football fans into the shelter of the main stand at what was then United Park, Drogheda.
It was late March 1995. Ireland under 15s were playing Switzerland. There were plenty of good players on show, but only one great one: Stephen Mcphail. His left foot was as sweet as a peach all night – ' he's the next Liam Brady' was the call from some fans, that was a tag that stayed with him for years to come.
The Mcphail story had already begun in the years before that night, down at St. Joseph's in Rush they knew all about him, here was a man destined for greater things. He went off to Leeds United not so long later, guiding them to a Youths Cup final win in 1997. A year later he was a European Championship under 18 winner with Ireland. He also made his full Leeds debut in a match against Leicester in February 1998, having been promoted to the first team squad the previous Christmas. That year also saw an horrific moment in his young life. It was a March night at Stansted, just after a game with West Ham, and the Leeds lads were flying back to Yorkshire.
The plane had barely taken off when Rod Wallace spotted that the engine was on fire! The pilot quickly diverted back to the runway and down it came, running off the tarmac and onto grass, the tail popping up. Stephen had to jump from the rear of the plane that night, an experience that will always remain with him. The 14 years since his professional debut has brought him on many roads, loans at Nottingham Forest and Millwall, then a spell at Barnsley followed by a move to Cardiff in 2006. It's been home since.
